Édgar Ramírez is mourning the deaths of several more loved ones due toCOVID-19, just over a month after the virus killed his grandmother.
In anemotional Instagram poston Wednesday, the actor shared the news that his aunt Lucy and Uncle Guillermo had both died over the weekend. He also revealed that another “dear friend” had died after battling complications from the virus for months.
“I can’t stand this void in my chest, this metallic taste in my mouth, this crippling headache that doesn’t seem to soothe,” Ramírez said. “The waves of hopelessness that I refuse to let take root in my soul.”
Ramírez shared that none of his loved ones who died had been vaccinated, because the COVID-19 vaccine is not widely accessible in Venezuela, where they all live.
“Meanwhile, tens of thousands of vaccines are being thrown away in the United States because a larger number of people don’t want them. It breaks my heart that so many people in this country are willing to snub the very vaccine my family would have taken in an instant,” he continued.
As of Aug. 25,just over 61% of Americans have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and 51.7% are fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Of the eligible population, those aged 12 and up, 71.3% have received at least one dose and 60.5% are fully vaccinated.
“Don’t do it for yourself. Do it to protect those who are vulnerably, those with immune deficiencies, and all others who can get very sick if infected,” he wrote, adding: “To get vaccinated in an act of compassion.”
Last week, Ramírezsat down with Dr. Anthony Faucito discuss information about the COVID-19 pandemic, including the access to vaccinations across the world.
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In his post on Wednesday, Ramírez directed his followers to the prior post to listen to what Fauci had to say.
“No one who has access to a vaccine should die from COVID 19,” he wrote in the caption of the post. “Please read this information, watch the interview and please, please share it.”
Daniele Venturelli/WireImage

During their 10-minute conversation, Ramírez asked Fauci questions he’d gathered from his community, including the safest activities to participate in and the effects of long COVID.
“We need to take this very seriously,” Fauci told Ramírez. “It is the worst pandemic of a respiratory disease that our planet has experienced in 100 years. And the most unfortunate thing is that for us in this country, we are blessed with having vaccines for everybody and yet we have an almost inexplicable pushback against vaccines among some.”
In the caption of the video conversation, Ramírez wrote on Instagram that he hoped the discussion would “serve as a starting point for a conversation with the people in your life who are hesitant about getting vaccinated.”
“Just have the conversation, please,” he urged his followers, encouraging everyone to “follow science and truthful information.”
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source: people.com